Improvement in railway-car trucks



PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN CLARK, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY-CAR TRUCKS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 118,51/5, dated August 29, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN CLARK, of 44 Finsbury Circus, in the city of London, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rail- The object of this invention is to facilitate the traverse of railway carriages around curves, and thus to avoid the irregular and destructive action of the wheels uponA the rails and remove the liability ofthe carriages running off the rails at such parts of the line. To attain these results I cause the end axles of the carriages to incline to the center ofthe curve of the rails in radial lines, which inclination is effected by allowing the center-axle to move endwise with its bearings while a curve is being traversed. The invention consists in a novel mechanism for connecting and changing the relation of the axles, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a carriage-frame fitted with a mechanism whereby the end axles are caused to take an inclined position with respect to and through the endwise motion of the central axle. Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof, showing the wheelaxles parallel to each other 5 and Fig. 3 is a diagram plan, showing the wheels as running over a curve, and exhibiting in action the parts which connect the axle-bearings with each other.

a is the central axle, mounted in the axle-boxes b b, which are free to slide endwise in guides formed on the under face of their respective bearv ing-bars c. f These bearing-bars lit between the axle-guards d el andl form the bearings for the center springs, which are seated upon saddle-flanged slides to allow of an endwise motion of the center axle. e e are links, one end of each of which is jointed to a lug at one side of the central axleboxes, and the opposite end is jointed to a cranklever, j' or j". rlhese crank-levers are centered, respectively, upon the rounded edges of the axleguards d d', and they are jointed to connectingrods g g', the opposite ends of which are connected to lugs on the side of the end axle-boxes lo 71,. These axle-boxes h lb are fitted to segment-shaped guard-plates i if, and are free to move under those plates, as indicated at Fig. 3, under the drag or thrust ofthe connecting-rods g g.

It will now be understood that, as. the wheels of the central axle are free to receive a lateral movement in passing round a curve, they will cause their axles to move endwise, as shown at Fig. 3, and thereby, through the action of the crank-levers ff and connecting-rods g g', move the end axles out of the parallel position indicated by the dotted lines t t, and take a radial position in respect of the curve over which the carriage is traveling.

Having now described the nature of lny invention, I wish it to be understood that I claim- The central axle a, boxes b, links e c', cranklevers j' j", connecting-rods g gf, end axle-boxes L IL', and guard-plates e' i', combined and arranged substantially as shown and described, to operate as specified.

In witness whereof I, the said JOHN CLARK, have hereunto set my hand the 27 th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1871.

JOHN CLARK.

Witnesses:

H. K. WHITE,

66 Chancery Lame. FRANK RUssELL,

4:4: Ftasbury Circus, E. O. 

